The cities of the Asia-Pacific region dominate the list of the most expensive places in the world for expats to live, accounting for 18 of the priciest cities on the planet.

The unwanted prize for the most expensive city in the world went to Luanda, the capital of Angola, for the second straight year.

Luanda sits atop the cost tree due to its high number of oil workers and the nation’s reliance on imports, according to the annual study by Mercer.

Angola’s capital Luanda retained the unenviable title of the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, narrowly edging out Tokyo, according to a new survey.

The Mercer group‘s study named the Pakistani port Karachi as the least expensive city, with living around three times cheaper than in Luanda.

Oil-rich Angola is a magnet for foreign workers who push up already high prices inflated by a reliance on imports.

Luanda in Angola is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates, according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer.

For the first time, three African cities – Luanda, Ndjamena and Libreville in Gabon (7) – were among the 10 most expensive cities.

The top ten also includes three Asian cities; Tokyo (2), Osaka (6) and Hong Kong (jointly ranked 8).

Moscow (4), Geneva (5) and Zurich (joint 8) are the most expensive European cities, followed by Copenhagen (10).

Bad times are getting even worse for Hong Kong‘s homemakers with a comparative survey showing it is now harder to own an apartment here than in other major cities of the world.

The report released Wednesday claims that your average Hongkonger has to spend 10 times their annual income to buy an apartment — the worst rating of 272 metropolitan cities around the world which were surveyed.

New York City‘s got fashionable Fifth Avenue, trendy Tribeca and an oasis in Central Park. To enjoy those perks, residents pay up.

The Big Apple topped a new list of America’s most expensive cities, with a measured cost of living surpassing that of Houston, Boston and Washington, D.C.

Making $123,000 a year would buy you the same standard of living as someone who makes $50,000 in Houston, Texas, according to the New York Daily News.

Paris is the most expensive city to live in according to the latest survey from Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister company to The Economist.

The survey assesses the cost of living by comparing housing, food, clothing, transport and utility bills and the like in 132 cities around the world.

The study is aimed at helping companies calculate allowances for executives and their families being sent overseas.

Tokyo comes second, up from sixth place a year ago. The fall in Russia’s currency against the dollar has made Moscow cheaper than it once was.